100 great quotes about motivation and taking action

Here are 100 great quotes I found about motivation and action. Personally I take from these that you have to start doing it, whatever it is you want to do. And if you don't know what you want, it's time to find out. :)

Also check out my collection of quotes, it's another popular post on my blog. You can bookmark both pages and also link to them.

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1. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

- Aristotle

2. The best way out is always through.
- Robert Frost

3. Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
- William B. Sprague

4. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
- Albert Einstein

5. Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.
- Henry Ford

6. I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.
- Oprah Winfrey

7. I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
- Michael Jordan

8. You must be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi

9. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.
- Goethe

10. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
- Zig Ziglar

11. Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
- Mahatma Gandhi

12. Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.
- Napoleon Hill

13. Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
- Truman Capote

14. Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.
- Japanese Proverb

15. In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.
- Theodore Roosevelt

16. If you keep saying things are going to be bad, you have a chance of being a prophet.
- Isaac B. Singer

17. Success consists of doing the common things of life uncommonly well.
- Unknown

18. Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.
- Charles F. Kettering, Engineer and Inventor

19. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

20. Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.
- Unknown

21. Some succeed because they are destined. Some succeed because they are determined.
- Unknown

22. Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
- Dan Stanford

23. Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.
- Albert Einstein

24. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
- Hugh Downs

25. If you're going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.
- Marie Osmond

26. Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
- Roy Goodman

27. If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.
- E. Joseph Cossman

28. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

29. We judge of man's wisdom by his hope.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
- Mark Twain

31. Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
- Mark Twain

32. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect.
- Mark Twain

33. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- Mark Twain

34. The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.
- Richard B. Sheridan

35. Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

36. Act or accept.
- Unanonymous

37. Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.
- Tim Blixseth

38. The world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape.
- Bono

39. Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you.
- Dr Phil

40. Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.
- Stephen R. Covey

41. People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.
- Norman Vincent Peale

42. Whenever you find whole world against you just turn around and lead the world.
- Anonymous

43. Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent.
- Marilyn vos Savant, Author and Advice Columnist

44. I can't understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I'm frightened by old ones.
- John Cage

45. Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.
- Albert Einstein

46. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
- Unknown

47. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
- Unknown

48. Anyone can do something when they WANT to do it. Really successful people do things when they don't want to do it.
- Dr. Phil

49. There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
- Dr. Denis Waitley

50. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
- Sir Winston Churchill

51. Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but don't quit.
- Conrad Hilton

52. Attitudes are contagious. Make yours worth catching.
- Unknown

53. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
- John Wooden

54. There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it.
- Mario Cuomo

55. Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.
- Richard Bach

56. Vision doesn't usually come as a lightening bolt. Rather it comes as a slow crystallization of life challenges that we one day recognize as a beautiful diamond with great value to ourselves and others.
- Dr. Michael Norwood

57. Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.
- Dr. Joyce Brothers

58. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
- Samuel Beckett

59. Flops are a part of life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.
- Rosalind Russell

60. Cause change and lead. Accept change and survive. Resist change and die.
- Ray Norda, Chairman, Novell

61. Winners lose much more often than losers. So if you keep losing but you're still trying, keep it up! You're right on track.
- Matthew Keith Groves

62. An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
- Bill Bernbach

63. An obstacle is often a stepping stone.
- Prescott

64. Life is trying things to see if they work
- Ray Bradbury

65. If you worry about yesterday's failures, then today's successes will be few.
- Anonymous

66. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.
- Dennis P. Kimbro

67. We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

68. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

69. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
- Thomas Jefferson

70. I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.
- Albert Einstein

71. Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.
- Machiavelli.

72. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
- Mahatma Gandhi

73. You are what you think about all day long.
- Dr. Robert Schuller

74. What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

75. Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.
- Booker T. Washington

76. Talent is formed in solitude, character in the bustle of the world.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

77. To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
- Elbert Hubbard

78. If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.
- J.M. Power

79. By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day
- Robert Frost

80. I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
- Maya Angelou

81. The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
- William James

82. When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?'
- Sydney Harris

83. Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.
- Richard L. Evans

84. In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.
- Robert Frost

85. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

86. Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.
- Seneca

87. Do first things first, and second things not at all.
- Peter Drucker.

88. The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders.
- Foster's Law

89. Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.
- Joe Clark

90. I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
- Winston Churchill

91. Positive anything is better than negative thinking.
- Elbert Hubbard

92. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

93. Those who wish to sing, always find a song.
- Swedish Proverb

94. If you're going through hell, keep going.
- Winston Churchill

95. The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

96. Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
- Voltaire

97. Enduring habits I hate…. Yes, at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect, because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, 1882

98. There is no education like adversity.
- Disraeli

99. He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

100. Adversity introduces a man to himself.
- Author Unknown

Want to watch something intelligent? Take a look at these three BBC documentary series by Adam Curtis, all of them explaining how the society we know today became like this through ways and mechanisms you probably didn't know. These are all very good and can be downloaded or streamed completely legally:

1) "The Century of the Self" (2002) focuses on how Sigmund Freud's family exerted a surprising amount of influence on the way corporations and governments throughout the 20th century have thought about, and dealt with, people. [Download] [Wikipedia]

2) "The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear" (2004) compares the rise of the American neo-conservative movement and the radical Islamist movement, and argues that the threat of radical Islamism is largely a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries. [Download] [Wikipedia]

3) "The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom" (2007) explores how a simplistic model from the cold war of human beings as self-seeking creatures led to today's idea of "freedom". [Download] [Wikipedia]

He has of course done more work, check out his Wikipedia entry. And then download/stream it through Archive.org.

How to solve "Dial failed, do you want to retry?"

For a while I had a problem with my laptop not being able to use my USB 3G modem to connect to the Internet. Everytime I tried to connect I got this error message:

"Dial failed, do you want to retry?"

I finally managed to solve the problem by going to Services and setting the Telephony Service to "automatic". For some reason it was disabled, that's what caused the error message.

So if you are having the same problem, make sure you try the solution I used. And if it works for you, please comment on this post. :)

(This was on Windows 7, using Indosat IM2 in Indonesia, but I think the same solution will work for other systems and providers as well.)

How to get rid of religion - the easy way

Is it possible to get rid of religion? I think so, and here's my take on how we can do that:

FOUR IMPORTANT STEPS

1) Religion is removed completely from everything that has to do with official and public life. In other words complete separation of church and state, no religious content in public service radio and TV stations, and certainly no financial support of any kind for religious activities or organizations. People are of course free to have their beliefs, but will not receive any kind of support for it.

2) Non-religious people must make sure they are not a member of the state church in their country. The more people who remain passive members, the more state churches can use their "but we are a religious country" argument. So contact the state church to see if you are a member, and if you are, make sure you cancel your membership. (Norwegian readers, read this for reasons and "how-to".)

3) Religion as a subject in school is removed, and instead taught in a dry and factual matter under the history subject. "Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists believe that.." etc. Evangelism of any kind will not be allowed, and religious teachers will not be permitted to claim that key events from the religions really happened (since it's not possible to prove it).

4) A new subject called "Moral, ethics and philosophy" will be introduced instead. Children will attend this subject all through-out their school years, maybe even from kindergarten. This subject will probably be based on a kind of "best of" from various philosophers and religions, but without any religious content. In such a subject the students will train their critical thinking in everything related to morality, ethics and philosophy.

The effect of all this? In a few generations there will be fewer religious and superstitious people, and a much bigger part of the population will think differently, more independently and wiser. They will be more tolerant and have more respect for each other's differences. And — there will be fewer differences if religion isn't part of defining identity anymore.

IT'S POSSIBLE

Religious groups might feel these measures are disrespectful to their faith, but that won't be true since they still have complete freedom to believe. The only change is simply that religion is removed from the visible society.

Please note that I'm not talking about communism or socialism here. Totalitarianism in the past has worked ruthlessly to actively forbid and criminalize religion — I'm not suggesting anything like that. No, what I've outlined is a natural part of democracy and very possible to achieve everywhere, especially in secular regions like northern Europe, in particular the Nordic countries.

WHY WE DON'T NEED RELIGION

I'm probably obliged to inform that I think religion (and the illogical and inhumane traditions that accompany it) is one of humanity's major problems. It leads to unimaginable amounts of suffering and practical problems for large population groups that are bound by their religious mindset. And the biggest victims are always women, LGBT and children.

Up until now culture, tradition and religion have always been interweaved and connected. But if humanity aims to become as enlightened and free as possible, we must in the long run minimize the significance of religion. We simply don't need it.

Hvordan man kan fase ut religion - på en enkel måte

Er det mulig å fase ut religion fra samfunnet? Jeg tror det, og her er en fremgangsmåte på hvordan vi kan gjøre det:

FIRE VIKTIGE SKRITT

1) Ikke-religiøse mennesker må sørge for at de er utmeldt av statsreligionen. Jo flere som forblir passive medlemmer, jo sterkere står statsreligionens argument om at "vi er et religiøst samfunn." Hvis du er norsk statsborger, ikke kristen og ennå ikke er utmeldt av statskirken, gjør det nå med en gang. Her er en side som viser hvordan du enkelt melder deg ut.

2) Religion fjernes fullstendig fra alt som har å gjøre med det offentlige. M.a.o. fullstendig skille av stat og kirke, fjerning av alle religiøse formålsparagrafer, ikke noe religiøst innhold i statlige radio- og TV-kanaler  – og absolutt ingen støtte til noen religiøse aktiviteter eller organisasjoner. Folk må gjerne ha sine trossamfunn, men de får altså ingen økonomisk støtte til noe.

3) Religion tas ut som et selvstendig fag fra skolen og legges inn som tørt faktastoff i historiefaget. "Dette tror kristne, muslimer, buddhister på" osv. Ingen form for forkynning vil være tillatt, og religiøse lærere vil ikke ha lov til å hevde at begivenheter fra noen av religionene virkelig hendte (siden det er umulig å bevise det).

4) Man innfører i stedet et moral/etikk/filosofi-fag. Dette vil bli introdusert i tidlig alder, kanskje allerede i barnehagen, og gå i gjennom hele skoletiden frem til og med videregående skole. Faget vil antageligvis ta utgangspunkt i en slags "best of" fra ulike filosofer og religioner, men være helt uten religiøst innhold. I et slikt fag vil elevene tidlig få trent opp sin kritiske sans i forhold til alt som har med moral, etikk og filosofi å gjøre.

Effekten av alt dette? I løpet av noen få generasjoner vil det være færre religiøse og overtroiske mennesker, og en mye større del av befolkningen vil tenke annerledes, mer uavhengig og klokere. De vil være mer tolerante og ha mer respekt for hverandres forskjeller. Og – det vil være færre forskjeller siden religion ikke lenger er med med på å definere identitet.

DET ER MULIG

Noen religiøse grupper vil kanskje føle at dette er respektløst ovenfor deres tro, men det er ikke riktig, siden det fortsatt vil være full religionsfrihet. Den eneste forandringen er at religion fjernes fra det synlige samfunnet.

Vennligst legg merke til at jeg ikke snakker om kommunisme eller sosialisme her. Fortidens totalitarisme har arbeidet hardt for å forby og kriminalisere religion – det er ikke noe slikt jeg foreslår. Hva jeg har skissert er en naturlig del av demokratiet og fullt mulig å få til hvor som helst, spesielt i sekulære regioner som nord-Europa, og Skandinavia i særdeleshet.

HVORFOR VI IKKE TRENGER RELIGION

Jeg plikter her å opplyse om at jeg synes religion (og de ulogiske og inhumane tradisjonene som følger med) er et av menneskehetens hovedproblemer. Det fører til ufattelig mye lidelse og praktiske problemer for store folkegrupper som er bundet av sin religions tankesett. Og det går ALLTID verst utover kvinner, LGBT og barn.

Hittil har kultur, tradisjon og religion vært knyttet sammen. Men hvis menneskeheten tar sikte på å være så opplyst og fri som mulig, må vi på sikt minimere betydningen av religion. Vi trenger den simpelthen ikke.

The Beatles i ny drakt

Under kan du lese en kort, men informativ artikkel jeg skrev for NTB om The Beatles og deres remastrede katalog som kom ut denne uken.

Jeg gjorde også en lang og mye mer detaljert artikkel om samme tema, som kommer i Musikkpraksis nummer seks, i butikkene i desember.

 

 

The Beatles i ny drakt

 

Oslo (NTB-Per Christian Frankplads): Første gangen The Beatles kom ut på CD var så sent som i 1987. Denne uken, 22 år etter, kommer hele katalogen på nytt i restaurerte og remastrede CD-utgaver, både i mono og stereo.

 

Samtidig slippes også spillet «The Beatles: Rock Band», hvor det er mulig å spille 45 originale spor «selv», med forenklede replikaer av The Beatles' originale instrumenter.
Siden CD-ene fra 1987 kom ut tidlig i CD-alderen og lider av et noe sterilt og kaldt preg, bestemte Apple Records seg i 2005 endelig for å restaurere hele katalogen med mye bedre lyd. Remastringsarbeidet ved Abbey Road Studios har pågått av og på siden da, med Allan Rouse som ansvarlig for dette og mange andre tidligere Beatles-prosjekter. Han sier at teamet var fullstendig klar over hva de sto ovenfor.
- Det var virkelig litt av et ansvar, grunnet to ting; for det første har materialet aldri blitt remastret før - og for det andre er det The Beatles.

Pent behandlet
 

Noen fans fryktet for at lyden ville bli oppdatert for mye til 2009-standarder, hvor lyden på pop- og rockplater ofte er presset sammen så hardt at nyansene mellom høyt og lavt volum forsvinner.
Men en gjennomlytting viser at teknikerne har behandlet The Beatles pent og respektfullt, og at lyden simpelthen bare er høyere, bedre og mye klarere enn CD-utgivelsene fra 1987.
Katalogen blir tilgjengelig både i mono og stereo som enkeltutgivelser og også to forskjellige bokssett.

Foregikk i mono
 

Eldre fans over 50 husker kanskje at 60-tallet stort sett foregikk i mono, og det var ikke før på slutten av The Beatles' karriere, at stereo begynte å bli vanlig. Rouse forklarer noe av motivasjonen bak monoutgivelsene:
- Bandet var alltid selv med på å mikse ned monoplatene sammen med produsent George Martin og teknikeren, men aldri på stereomiksene, ikke inntil de siste tre albumene. Så opp til «Abbey Road» er det faktisk monoversjonene som på mange måter kan anses som de egentlige The Beatles-utgivelsene.
I første omgang kommer katalogen kun på CD, siden plateselskapet Apple Corps Ltd. ikke vil gi ut The Beatles i digital form inntil de har satt opp sin egen plattform.

Bli en Beatle

«The Beatles: Rock Band» kommer også denne uken, og er i følge spillindustrien en av de mest etterlengtede titlene noensinne. Spillet vil bli solgt med enkle replikaer av bandets instrumenter, og man kan altså traktere John Lennons Rickenbacker 325-gitar, Paul McCartneys Höfner-bass, George Harrisons Gretsch-gitar og Ringo Starrs Ludwig-trommer, komplett med Beatles-logo på basstromma.
I spillet velger man seg en Beatle og prøver seg på låter som dekker hele bandets karriere, og opptrer på steder som The Cavern Club, Abbey Road Studios og taket av Apple Corps Ltd.

Årets julegave?

I utgangspunktet følger det med 45 originale Beatles-låter, og flere av bandets sanger vil også bli tilgjengelige som nedlastinger etter hvert. Musikken er tatt fra de originale flersporsopptakene, og lyden og spillopplevelsen er i følge tidlige anmeldelser så nær The Beatles man kan komme - uten å bruke tidsmaskin.
Harmonix Music Systems/Viacom har brukt flere år på å utvikle spillet, og bare musikklisensieringen alene kan koste opptil 40 millioner dollar, avhengig av salgstall. Men siden produktet er tilgjengelig for de tre største spillplattformene og julen fortsatt er tre-fire måneder unna, er dette spådd å bli en av årets mest solgte titler - selv med en relativt stiv utsalgspris.

(©NTB)

 

 

 

 

Lydteknikerne ved Abbey Road Studios som har jobbet med å remastre The Beatles-katalogen. Fra venstre bak: Simon Gibson, Sean Magee og Allan Rouse. Foran fra venstre: Guy Massey, Paul Hicks, Sam Okell og Steve Rooke. Rouse har vært prosjektkoordinator og leder for arbeidet.

Er du utmeldt av Den Norske Kirke? Hvorfor ikke?

A) Er du religiøs?

B) Hvis ikke, hvorfor er du fortsatt innmeldt i statskirken?

Hvis svaret er «av tradisjon» eller noe annet, bør du kanskje tenke på om du kan stå inne for alt Den Norske Kirke representerer? Liker du for eksempel at Oslo-biskop Kvarme uttalte at homofile kan gå til psykolog eller psykiater for å kureres eller «reorienteres»? Eller mange andre eksempler på antikvariske holdninger?

Hvis det nesten er det samme for deg om du er innmeldt i statskirken eller ikke, og du bare aldri har tenkt på å melde deg ut – er det ikke på tide? Ved å melde deg ut sørger du for at medlemstallene går ned, og argumentet for å skille stat og kirke blir sterkere.

Så ta steget akkurat nå – meld deg ut av statskirken via denne lenken til ID-porten via Kirkens websider.

Selv om du tror at du aldri ble innmeldt, bør du bruke den samme lenken for å sjekke om du faktisk er blitt medlem allikevel. Det har nemlig vært et enormt rot i kirkens medlemsregister, og kirken har ved flere anledninger meldt inn mange mennesker som enten var utmeldt, eller som aldri var medlemmer. Dette har ikke nødvendigvis vært feiltagelser, men kan heller fremstå som bevisst juks for å øke medlemstallene.

Og selv om de ikke er døpt, er i tillegg er veldig mange blitt automatisk medlem dersom bare én av foreldrene er eller var medlem i Den norske Kirke. Denne praksisen kalles «tilhørig medlem». Så logg deg inn for å bekrefte at du enten er utmeldt, eller med deg ut så raskt som mulig.

Mange tenker at de heller kan melde seg inn i Human-Etisk Forbund, så «kirkeskattden» deres blir overført til dette såkalte livssynssamfunnet.

Men – HEF har i mange år jobbet så dårlig med å motvirke religioners negative effekter, at organisasjonen nå snarest bør legges ned. De tjener ikke noen god nok funksjon til å motta offentlig støtte, og står i veien for å komme nærmere et samfunn helt uten organisert overtro.

HEF er dessuten så sleipe at de har gjort det gratis å melde seg inn – antageligvis et strategisk trekk for å skaffe seg mange medlemmer som mulig. Slik kan de i så fall øke sine egne lønninger, og ta enda mere penger fra skattebetalerne.

Jeg anbefaler derfor på det sterkeste å heller melde seg ut av Human-Etisk Forbund, siden de må svekkes og helst forsvinne. En bedre organisasjon som jobber mot all religion kan da oppstå og bli sterkere i stedet for.